SharePoint 2010 Document Sets

Microsoft introduced a new way to manage set of documents as a single object called Document Set. This single object can be used for a workflow, metadata, information management policies. In the earlier version of SharePoint (MOSS 2007) user doesn’t have an option to collectively manage related documents as a single object to associate a workflow, metadata or IM policies and download the documents as a single object. Managing individual documents is cumbersome if documents are used for same purpose and requires same metadata, workflow etc.

In SharePoint 2010, multiple documents can be organized into document sets. Document sets are new content types in SharePoint 2010. Each document set can hold multiple documents with share same metadata. The benefit is that, for example, Project documents, which could consist of several documents related to different phases can be bundled in a document set and passed off as a set to an approval workflow. Moreover since it is a content type in itself, metadata and IM policies can be attached at document set level.

Key Benefits of SharePoint 2010 Document Sets:

Ø  Document sets can share the same metadata

Ø  Workflows can be associated to a whole document set

Ø  Manage permissions at Documents set level

 (This avoids the use of folders for managing permissions for specific documents.)

Ø  Versioning the document set instead of the separated documents

Ø  Download all documents of a document set compressed into a ZIP file

Ø  Customizable Welcome Page for all document sets

Here are the steps to create Document set in SharePoint 2010:

In order to use the Documents Sets feature, enable Document Sets Feature at Site collection level.

Navigate to your SharePoint 2010 site collection. Click Site Action and Site Settings.

Click Site Collection features.

Activate Document Sets Feature

As I mentioned in the above statements, documents sets are actually just content types as other document and list content types.

• Create new documents Document Set content type with required metadata and workflow configurations
• And, attach the new content type to SharePoint Document library
Create a new Document Set Content Type:

Navigate back to your SharePoint site. Click Site Actions -> Site Settings.

Under Galleries section, select Site Content Types.

 Click Create.

Type Name and Description for the new Document Set content type and select the parent content type as “Document Set”.

Create necessary Document Set content types.

Make necessary Document Set settings according to your requirements using Document Set settings

Attach Document Set Content Types to Document Library:

Now enable “Allow Management of Content Types” on targeted document library and attach the Document Set content types.

Navigate to your document library. Click Library Settings.

Under General Settings, select Advanced Settings.

In Advanced Settings page, select "Allow Management of Content Types" as "Yes".

Now you can attach the document set content types to document library. To attach the content types, navigate back to settings page, under Content Types section, select "Add from existing site content types". 

Select the available and required Document Set content types from site content types and click Ok to attach the content types to document library.

Now you see the Document Set content types under document library new button.

Here is the snapshot of complete document set:

Document set can hold multiple and multiple types of documents with common settings and properties. This functionality is a great addition with respect to content management features in SharePoint.